China’s national oil and gas pipeline network covers long transmission distances and passes through remote areas, road crossings, construction zones and other locations that are difficult to inspect continuously.
During pipeline pigging operations, field teams need to confirm when the pig approaches and passes key sections of the pipeline. At the same time, construction activity near buried pipelines must be identified quickly so that inspection personnel can assess potential risks.
Traditional patrol methods rely heavily on manual observation and repeated site visits. This makes it difficult to monitor long pipeline sections efficiently, especially in remote or widely distributed areas.
The pipeline operator required a monitoring method that could:
HERTZINNO deployed a distributed monitoring solution based on buried vibration and acoustic sensors.
The sensors are installed in the soil near the underground pipeline. They do not clamp onto, penetrate or directly connect to the pipeline. Instead, they detect vibration and acoustic signals transmitted through the surrounding soil.
When a cleaning pig moves through the pipeline, the monitoring node records the characteristic signal as the pig approaches, passes and moves away from the monitored section.
The same sensing method can also identify abnormal ground vibration associated with excavation, drilling, vehicle movement and other construction activity near the pipeline route.
Monitoring nodes are installed at selected locations according to operational risk and inspection requirements. Remote sections can use wider spacing, while road crossings, populated areas and active construction zones can be monitored more closely.
The system improved inspection efficiency by giving pipeline personnel clearer information about where and when an event occurred.
During pigging operations, field teams could use monitoring records to confirm the pig’s passage through key pipeline sections, reducing repeated manual checks.
For construction monitoring, the system helped inspection teams focus on locations where abnormal vibration activity was detected, rather than relying only on routine patrol schedules.
The deployment delivered several practical benefits:
This application demonstrates how buried acoustic and vibration monitoring can support both pipeline pig tracking and third-party construction monitoring.
By converting ground-transmitted signals into actionable event information, the solution helps pipeline operators move from broad, repetitive patrols toward more targeted and efficient inspection workflows.
HERTZINNO provides buried acoustic and vibration monitoring solutions for pipeline pig tracking, construction activity detection and pipeline patrol support.
Contact our team to discuss pipeline conditions, monitoring-node locations, communication requirements and platform integration.
